by Nicki Marks

Created on: September 20, 2008   Last Updated: March 06, 2010

Prepaid cell phones are a wonderful option for those of us who can't afford to pay a monthly bill, or for children whose parents don't want them to have a regular cell phone yet. Prepaid phones allow you to choose how many minutes you want on your phone and pay for them before hand. You can choose as many or as few as you want, and there's no monthly bill to pay.

Prepaid phones are fairly simple to understand, probably easier to use for most people than a normal cell phone. First you by the phone and activate it. Then you buy a card that has minutes on it. You can choose to buy a smaller amount of minutes, or a large amount like 500. When you buy these minutes, you call and activate them, and they're added to your phone. You can talk for as long as you have minutes, but you don't have to pay for them because you've already paid, hence the term prepaid.

Many prepaid phones now include a camera phone and text messaging as well. To use these features, it costs a certain number of minutes, usually a fairly small amount. When you send a picture or text message the phone automatically deducts from your total minutes. When all your minutes are gone you can no longer use your phone until you buy more minutes. It's completely up to you when to add minutes, and how many to put on at a time. You can also add minutes before you run out so you'll always have some.

Prepaid phones are great for younger children or those of us who rarely use a phone and don't need the expensive packages a normal cell phone comes with. Parents can control how many minutes their kids have, and they don't have to worry about them running up a high bill by going over their limit. They can also add or take away minutes as a reward.

The disadvantage of a prepaid phone versus a normal cell phone, is the cost. The minutes you pay for start adding up, and in the long run you end up paying more for minutes than you would with a contract. Most phones have a minimum that you must put on monthly, and the cost starts to add up after a while. There's also the worry that you'll run out of minutes when you really need them, where as with a regular phone you can go over your limit but you'll only be charged for it. Depending on your cell phone usage history, a prepaid phone may still be an advantage for you. Anyone under 18 who can't sign a contract, and those who rarely use a phone will probably benefit from prepaid. All the rest of us will just have to stick with our monthly bill.

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